Capacitor with hafnium oxide and aluminum oxide alloyed dielectric layer and method for fabricating the same

ABSTRACT

The present invention relates to a capacitor having a hafnium oxide and aluminum oxide alloyed dielectric layer and a method for fabricating the same. The capacitor includes: a lower electrode; a dielectric layer formed on the lower electrode; and an upper electrode formed on the dielectric layer, wherein a portion of the dielectric layer contacting one of the lower electrode and the upper electrode is formed by alloying hafnium oxide and aluminum oxide together.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a semiconductor device; and, more particularly, to a capacitor of a semiconductor device and a method for fabricating the same.

DESCRIPTION OF RELATED ARTS

In a dynamic random access memory (DRAM) device, a current trend of minimization in the design rule has led to a decrease in a cell area but an increase in an aspect ratio of a storage node. Because of this increased aspect ratio, it is important to secure a sufficient capacitance required for each unit cell. Also, it is necessary to develop a new technology for forming a dielectric layer with a uniform thickness within a structure having an increased aspect ratio.

Particularly, instead of employing a material of oxide-nitride-oxide (ONO), it has been studied on use of a high dielectric material such as aluminum oxide (Al₂O₃) and hafnium oxide (HfO₂) or a stacked structure of Al₂O₃ and HfO₂ in order to secure the required capacitance. Herein, Al₂O₃ has a dielectric constant of about 8, and HfO₂ has a dielectric constant ranging from about 20 to about 25. Also, an atomic layer deposition (ALD) technique is used to form this high dielectric material instead of a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) technique in order to meet a condition for the increased aspect ratio.

It is recently considered that the stacked structure of HfO₂ and Al₂O₃ is a highly applicable dielectric structure because the stacked structure of HfO₂ and Al₂O₃ shows a combined characteristic of an excellent dielectric characteristic provided from HfO₂ and an excellent leakage current characteristic provided from Al₂O₃.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a conventional capacitor structure including a stacked dielectric layer of HfO₂ and Al₂O₃.

As shown, the capacitor includes a lower electrode 11 made of polysilicon, a stacked dielectric layer 12, an upper electrode 13 made of polysilicon. Herein, the stacked dielectric layer 12 is formed by sequentially stacking an Al₂O₃ layer 12A and an HfO₂ layer 12B.

In the stacked dielectric layer 12, the Al₂O₃ layer 12A makes a contact to the lower electrode 11, while the HfO2 layer 12B makes a contact to the Al₂O₃ layer 12A. Herein, a required thickness of the Al₂O₃ layer 12A is greater than about 20 Å to improve a leakage current characteristic.

The capacitor with the above stacked dielectric layer 12 shows an excellent leakage current characteristic at a low voltage. However, the leakage current abruptly increases at a high voltage, resulting in a low break down voltage. As a result, reliability of the capacitor is further decreased.

FIG. 2 is a graph showing a leakage current characteristic of a conventional capacitor with a stacked dielectric layer formed by stacking an HfO₂ layer and an Al₂O₃ layer. In FIG. 2, a horizontal axis and a vertical axis express an applied bias and a leakage current, respectively. For measurement of the leakage current, a curve CI is observed in case that an upper electrode is supplied with a positive voltage while a lower electrode is decided to be a ground. On the other hand, a curve CII is observed in cased that an upper electrode is supplied with a negative voltage while a lower electrode is decided to be a ground.

As shown, in a low voltage supply V_(L) condition, the leakage current characteristic shows a gradually decreasing slope. On the other hand, in a high voltage supply V_(H) condition, the leakage current characteristic shows a sharply increasing slope. Because of this sharp increase in the leakage current under the high voltage supply V_(H) condition, there is displayed a low break down voltage in a capacitor. The reason for this result of low break down voltage is because of the aluminum oxide layer that makes a contact to the lower electrode.

Also, the HfO₂ layer is formed on the Al₂O₃ layer to secure the dielectric characteristic. However, the HfO₂ layer is thermally unstable, and thus, the leakage current and dielectric characteristics are degraded by a subsequent thermal process proceeding after formation of the upper electrode.

FIG. 3A is a graph showing a leakage current characteristic of a conventional capacitor having only an Al₂O₃ layer when the above mentioned subsequent thermal process is performed. FIG. 3B is a graph showing a leakage current characteristic of a conventional capacitor having a stacked dielectric layer of HfO₂ and Al₂O₃ when the above mentioned subsequent thermal process is performed. In FIGS. 3A and 3B, the horizontal axis and the vertical axis express an applied bias and a leakage current, respectively. The curves C1 and C3 show the leakage current characteristic before the subsequent thermal process proceeding after formation of an upper electrode, whereas the curves C2 and C4 show the leakage current characteristic after the subsequent thermal process is performed. Herein, the subsequent thermal process proceeds at a temperature of about 750° C. for about 20 minutes and at another temperature of about 675° C. for about 70 minutes.

Referring to FIG. 3A, the capacitor only with the Al₂O₃ layer shows a consistency in the leakage current characteristic with regardless of the subsequent thermal process. However, the capacitor with the stacked dielectric layer of HfO₂ and Al₂O₃ shows a difference in the leakage current characteristics before and after the subsequent thermal process. More specifically, under the same applied bias, the leakage current obtained after the subsequent thermal process is greater than that obtained before the subsequent thermal process. As shown in FIG. 3B, the leakage current may abruptly increase through a grain boundary of the HfO₂ crystallized by the subsequent thermal process.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a capacitor capable of preventing a break down voltage from being lowered at a high supply voltage occurring when an aluminum oxide (Al₂O₃) layer of a hafnium oxide (HfO₂) and aluminum oxide (Al₂O₃) stacked dielectric layer directly contacts a lower electrode and a method for fabricating the same.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a capacitor capable of preventing a leakage current from being increased during a subsequent thermal process occurring when a thermally unstable hafnium oxide layer of a hafnium oxide and aluminum oxide stacked dielectric layer contacts an upper electrode and a method for fabricating the same.

In accordance with an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a capacitor, including: a lower electrode; a dielectric layer formed on the lower electrode; and an upper electrode formed on the dielectric layer, wherein a portion of the dielectric layer contacting one of the lower electrode and the upper electrode is formed by alloying hafnium oxide and aluminum oxide together.

In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, there is also provided a capacitor, including: a lower electrode made of polysilicon; an upper electrode made of polysilicon; and a dielectric layer formed between the lower electrode and the upper electrode and alloyed with hafnium oxide and aluminum oxide at a region contacting one of the lower electrode and the upper electrode.

In accordance with still another aspect of the present invention, there is also provided a method for fabricating a capacitor, including the steps of: forming a lower electrode; forming a dielectric layer alloyed with hafnium oxide and aluminum oxide on the lower electrode; and forming an upper electrode on the dielectric layer.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other objects and features of the present invention will become better understood with respect to the following description of the preferred embodiments given in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a conventional capacitor structure including a hafnium oxide (HfO₂) and aluminum oxide (Al₂O₃) stacked dielectric layer;

FIG. 2 is a graph showing a leakage current characteristic of a conventional capacitor with an HfO₂ and Al₂O₃ stacked dielectric layer;

FIG. 3A is a graph showing a leakage current characteristic of a conventional capacitor having only an Al₂O₃ dielectric layer during a subsequent thermal process proceeding after formation of an upper electrode;

FIG. 3B is a graph showing a leakage current characteristic of a conventional capacitor having an HfO₂ and Al₂O₃ stacked dielectric layer during a subsequent thermal process proceeding after formation of an upper electrode;

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a capacitor structure including an HfO₂ and Al₂O₃ alloyed dielectric layer in accordance with a first preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a timing diagram showing gas supply to a chamber when the HfO₂ and Al₂O₃ alloyed dielectric layer is formed by employing an atomic layer deposition (ALD) technique in accordance with the first preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a graph showing leakage current characteristics of a HfO₂ and Al₂O₃ stacked dielectric layer, a [A/H/A/H/A/H/A/H/A] laminated dielectric layer and a [HOAOAO] alloyed dielectric layer, in which ‘A’, ‘H’ and ‘O’ represent atoms or molecules

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a capacitor structure including an HfO₂ and Al₂O₃ alloyed dielectric layer in accordance with a second preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a timing diagram showing gas supply to a chamber when the HfO₂ and Al₂O₃ alloyed dielectric layer is formed by employing an ALD technique in accordance with the second preferred embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a capacitor structure in accordance with a third preferred embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Hereinafter, detailed descriptions on preferred embodiments of the present invention will be provided with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a capacitor structure with a hafnium oxide (HfO₂) and aluminum oxide (Al₂O₃) alloyed dielectric layer in accordance with a first preferred embodiment of the present invention.

As shown, the capacitor includes a lower electrode 21, an HfO₂ and Al₂O₃ alloyed dielectric layer 22 and an upper electrode 23. Particularly, the HfO₂ and Al₂O₃ alloyed dielectric layer 22 is formed by alloying uniformly an Al₂O₃ 22A and an HfO₂ 22B. Hereinafter, the HfO₂ and Al₂O₃ alloyed dielectric layer 22 has a molecular structure of (HfO₂)_(1-x)(Al₂O₃)_(x), in which x represents molecular composition ratio.

More specifically, the lower electrode 21 and the upper electrode 23 are made of a material selected from a group consisting of phosphorus (P) or arsenic (As) doped polysilicon, titanium nitride (TiN), ruthenium (Ru), ruthenium oxide (RuO₂), platinum (Pt), iridium (Ir) and iridium oxide (IrO₂). For instance, the lower electrode 21 and the upper electrode 23 are made of polysilicon, thereby forming a silicon-insulator-silicon (SIS) capacitor structure. For another example, the lower electrode 21 can be made of polysilicon, and the upper electrode is made of one of metal and metal oxide. Thus, a metal-insulator-metal (MIM) capacitor structure is formed. In addition, the lower electrode 21 can be formed in one of a stack type, a concave type and a cylinder type.

The HfO₂ and Al₂O₃ alloyed dielectric layer 22 is deposited by employing an atomic layer deposition (ALD) technique. In more detail, a cycle of depositing the Al₂O₃ 22A in a unit of atomic layer and a cycle of depositing the HfO₂ 22B in a unit of atomic layer are repeatedly performed to deposit the HfO₂ and Al₂O₃ alloyed dielectric layer 22 with an intended thickness.

In the HfO₂ and Al₂O₃ alloyed dielectric layer 22, it is not the Al₂O₃ 22A that makes a direct contact to the lower electrode 21. Also, it is not the HfO₂ 22B that makes a direct contact to the upper electrode 23. These results are possible due to a characteristic of the ALD technique. That is, an atomic layer can be deposited inconsecutively by controlling the number of repeating the cycles. Therefore, in the HfO₂ and Al₂O₃ alloyed dielectric layer 22, both the Al₂O₃ 22A and the HfO₂ 22B make contacts to the lower electrode 21 and the upper electrode 23. Hereinafter, the Al₂O₃ and HfO₂ 22A and 22B each formed in a unit of an atomic layer are referred to as the Al₂O₃ layer and the HfO₂ layer, respectively.

Hereinafter, a method for forming the HfO₂ and Al₂O₃ alloyed dielectric layer 22 will be described in more detail.

As described above, the ALD technique is performed to form the HfO₂ and Al₂O₃ alloyed dielectric layer 22 in a molecular structure of (HfO₂)_(1-x)(Al₂O₃)_(x), wherein the Al₂O₃ layer 22A and the HfO₂ layer 22B make contacts to the lower electrode 21 and the upper electrode 23. At this time, the number of repeating each respective cycle of depositing the Al₂O₃ layer 22A and the HfO₂ layer 22B is controlled until each thickness of the Al₂O₃ layer 22A and the HfO₂ layer 22B ranges from about 1 Å to about 10 Å. This range of thickness makes each atomic layer formed inconsecutively. Thus, if the thickness is greater than about 10 Å, each atomic layer is formed rather consecutively, thereby forming a stacked structure of HfO₂ and Al₂O₃.

FIG. 5 is a timing diagram showing gas supply to a chamber when the HfO₂ and Al₂O₃ alloyed dielectric layer 22 is formed by employing the ALD technique in accordance with the first preferred embodiment of the present invention.

As known, a source gas is first supplied to a chamber to make the source gas molecules chemically adsorbed onto a surface of a substrate. Then, those physically adsorbed source gas molecules are purged out by applying a purge gas. A reaction gas is supplied thereto to make the chemically adsorbed source gas molecules react with the reaction gas. From this chemical reaction, a single atomic layer is deposited. Thereafter, the non-reacted reaction gas is purged out by using a purge gas. The above sequential steps constitute one cycle of the single atomic layer deposition. The above ALD technique adopts a surface reaction mechanism to provide a stable and uniform thin layer. Also, compared to a chemical mechanical deposition (CVD) technique, the ALD technique effectively prevents particle generations by a gas phase reaction since the source gas and the reaction gas are separately provided in order and are purged out.

The above mentioned unit cycle for depositing the dielectric layer 22 in a structure of (HfO₂)_(1-x)(Al₂O₃)_(x) will be described in more detail.

The unit cycle can be expressed as follows. [(Hf/N₂/O₃/N₂)_(y)(Al/N₂/O₃/N₂)_(z)]_(n)  Unit cycle 1

Herein, Hf and Al are source gases for forming the HfO₂ layer 22B and the Al₂O₃ layer 22A, respectively. The subscripts ‘y’ and ‘z’ represent the number of repeating a respective cycle of (Hf/N₂/O₃/N₂) and (Al/N₂/O₃/N₂). Another subscript ‘n’ represents the number of repeating the [(Hf/N₂/O₃/N₂)_(y)(Al/N₂/O₃/N₂)] cycle. Herein, ‘y’, ‘z’ and ‘n’ are a natural number.

More specific to the unit cycle 1, the (Hf/N₂/O₃/N₂)_(y) cycle expresses sequential steps of providing a source gas of hafnium (Hf), a purge gas of nitrogen (N₂), an oxidation agent of ozone (O₃), and a purge gas of nitrogen (N₂), and this cycle is repeatedly performed y times. Also, the (Al/N₂/O₃/N₂)_(z) cycle expresses sequential steps of providing a source gas of aluminum (Al), a purge gas of N₂, an oxidation agent of O₃, and a purge gas of N₂, and this cycle is repeatedly performed z times. These cycles are repeated y and z times to respectively deposit a single layer of HfO₂ 22B and Al₂O₃ 22A with an intended thickness.

For the single atomic layer deposition of the Al₂O₃ 22A, a source gas of trimethylaluminum (Al(CH₃)₃) maintained with a room temperature is first flowed into a chamber for about 0.1 seconds to about 3 seconds. Hereinafter, trimethylaluminum is referred to as TMA. At this time, the chamber is maintained with a temperature ranging from about 200° C. to about 350° C. and a pressure ranging from about 0.1 torr to about 10 torr. The TMA source gas molecules are adsorbed onto the lower electrode 21. Thereafter, a purge gas of N₂ is flowed into the chamber for about 0.1 seconds to about 5 seconds to remove the unadsorbed TMA source gas molecules. Then, an oxidation agent of O₃, which is a reaction gas, is flowed into the chamber for about 0.1 seconds to about 3 seconds to induce a reaction between the adsorbed TMA source gas molecules and the O₃ gas molecules. As a result of the above reaction, an atomic layer of the Al₂O₃ 22A is deposited. Next, a purge gas of N₂ is flowed into the chamber for about 0.1 seconds to about 5 seconds to purge out the non-reacted O₃ molecules and byproducts of the above reaction.

The above described sequential steps of providing the TMA source gas, the purge gas of N₂, the reaction gas of O₃, and the purge gas of N₂ constitute one unit cycle which is repeatedly performed z times to deposit the Al₂O₃ layer 22A with an intended thickness. Herein, in addition to the TMA, modified TMA (MTMA; Al(CH)₃N(CH₂)₅CH₃) can be used as the source gas of Al. In addition to the O₃ gas, water (H₂O) and oxygen (O₂) plasma can be used as the oxidation agent. Such inert gas as argon (Ar) can be used as the purge gas as well.

For the single atomic layer deposition of the HfO₂ 22B, a source gas selected from a group consisting of HfCl₄, Hf(NO₃)₄, Hf(NCH₃C₂H₅)₄, Hf[N(CH₃)₂]₄, and Hf[N[C₂H₅)₂]₄ is vaporized at a vaporizer and is flowed into a chamber maintained with a temperature ranging from about 200° C. to about 400° C. and a pressure ranging from about 0.1 torr to about 10 torr to thereby make the Hf source gas molecules adsorbed. A purge gas of N₂ is then flowed into the chamber for about 0.1 seconds to about 5 seconds to purge out the unadsorbed Hf source gas molecules. A reaction gas of O₃ is flowed into the chamber for about 0.1 seconds to about 3 seconds to induce a reaction between the adsorbed Hf source molecules and the O₃ gas molecules. From this chemical reaction, a single atomic layer of the HfO₂ 22B is deposited. Next, a purge gas of N₂ is flowed into the chamber for about 0.1 seconds to about 5 seconds to purge out the non-reacted O₃ gas molecules and byproducts of the above reaction.

The sequential steps of providing the Hf source gas, the purge gas of N₂, the reaction gas of O₃ and the purge gas of N₂ constitutes one unit cycle which is repeatedly performed y times to deposit the HfO₂ layer 22B with an intended thickness. In addition to the O₃ gas, H₂O and oxygen plasma can be used as the oxidation agent. Such inert gas as Ar can be used as the purge gas as well.

It is well known that the above ALD technique proceeds in a pulse-like unit. The above unit cycle 1 is repeated to form the dielectric layer 22 with a molecular structure of (HfO₂)_(1-x)(Al₂O₃)_(x), wherein the HfO₂ layer 22B and the Al₂O₃ layer 22A are uniformly formed in a predetermined molecular composition ratio.

There are conditions to form such dielectric layer 22 with the molecular structure of (HfO₂)_(1-x)(Al₂O₃)_(x). First, the unit cycle 1 including the cycle of (Hf/N₂/O₃/N₂) repeatedly performed y times and the cycle of (Al/N₂/O₃/N₂) repeatedly performed z times is repeated n times. However, the number of repeating each of the two cycles, i.e., y and z, is specifically controlled such that the thickness of the HfO₂ layer 22B formed by the cycle of (Hf/N₂/O₃/N₂) and that of the Al₂O₃ layer 22A formed by the cycle of (Al/N₂/O₃/N₂) range from about 1 Å to about 10 Å in order to maximize an effect of uniformly alloying the HfO₂ and Al₂O₃ together. If the thickness of each single atomic layer is greater than about 10 Å, each single atomic layer shows a characteristic of consecutiveness, resulting in the same conventional HfO₂ and Al₂O₃ stacked dielectric layer or even more a degraded dielectric characteristic.

Second, the ratio of repeating the number of the two cycles, i.e., y and z, needs to be controlled appropriately to make the Al₂O₃ layer 22A in a ratio ranging from about 30% to about 60% in order to obtain an excellent electric characteristic by forming an amorphous thin dielectric layer through the alloying of the HfO₂ and Al₂O₃ layers 22B and 22A.

FIG. 6 is a graph showing leakage current characteristics of an HfO₂ and Al₂O₃ stacked dielectric layer, a [A/H/A/H/A/H/A/H/A] laminated layer and a [HOAOAO] alloyed layer. The leakage current characteristics are obtained when the above listed layers are applied as a dielectric layer of a capacitor. Herein, ‘A’, ‘H’ and ‘O’ represent atoms or molecules employed to form a specific structure of the above intended layer.

As shown, the HfO₂ and Al₂O₃ stacked dielectric layer is formed by stacking HfO₂ and Al₂O₃ with a respective thickness of about 20 Å and of about 25 Å. The [A/H/A/H/A/H/A/H/A] laminated layer is formed by alternatively stacking Al₂O₃ and HfO₂ each with a thickness of about 10 Å. The [HOAOAO] alloyed layer is formed by performing the unit cycle of (Hf/N₂/O₃/N₂)₁(Al/N₂/O₃/N₂)₂ in accordance with the first preferred embodiment of the present invention.

More specific to the leakage current characteristics of the above mentioned layers in FIG. 6, the [HOAOAO] alloyed layer formed on the basis of the first preferred embodiment shows a low leakage current characteristic in a low voltage supply V_(L) condition just like the HfO₂ and Al₂O₃ stacked dielectric layer due to a contact characteristic of the Al₂O₃ layer. Also, the [HOAOAO] alloyed layer exhibits a high take-off voltage characteristic in the low voltage supply V_(L) condition. Herein, the take-off voltage is a voltage wherein a leakage current sharply increases. However, the [HOAOAO] alloyed layer shows a high break down voltage characteristic in a high voltage supply V_(H) condition due to a pronounced contact characteristic of the HfO₂ over that of the Al₂O₃. That is, in the high voltage supply V_(H) condition, leakage currents of the [HOAOAO] alloyed layer increase in a gradual slope. Contrary to the [HOAOAO] alloyed layer, leakage currents of the HfO₂ and Al₂O₃ stacked dielectric layer and the [A/H/A/H/A/H/A/H/A] laminated layer sharply increase in a steep slope. Also, under the identical high voltage supply V_(H) condition, the [HOAOAO] alloyed layer has a low leakage current density compared to the other layers.

The above characteristic leakage current behavior of the [HOAOAO] alloyed layer even in the high voltage supply V_(H) condition is because a defect with negative charges typically existing in the Al₂O₃ layer and a defect with positive charges typically existing in the HfO₂ layer are offset against each other. Therefore, compared to the HfO₂ and Al₂O₃ stacked dielectric layer, the [HOAOAO] alloyed dielectric layer shows an excellent leakage current characteristic in both of the low voltage supply V_(L) condition and the high voltage supply V_(H) condition.

Also, in the [HOAOAO] alloyed layer, a direct contact of the HfO₂ layer to an upper electrode and a lower electrode is minimized, thereby suppressing degradation of the leakage current and dielectric characteristics caused by a thermal process performed after formation of the upper electrode.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a capacitor structure in accordance with a second preferred embodiment of the present invention.

As shown, the capacitor includes a lower electrode 31, a hafnium oxide (HfO₂) and aluminum oxide (Al₂O₃) dielectric layer 32 and an upper electrode 33. Herein, the lower electrode 31 and the upper electrode 33 are made of polysilicon. Also, the HfO₂ and Al₂O₃ alloyed dielectric layer 32 is formed by alloying uniformly an Al₂O₃ layer 32A and an HfO₂ layer 32B. Hereinafter, the HfO₂ and Al₂O₃ alloyed dielectric layer 32 is formed in a molecular structure of (HfO₂)_(1-x)(Al₂O₃)_(x), wherein x represents a molecular composition ratio.

Particularly, the HfO₂ and Al₂O₃ dielectric layer 32 is formed by performing an ALD technique. In more detail, a unit cycle is repeatedly performed to deposit the HfO₂ and Al₂O₃ alloyed dielectric layer 32 with an intended thickness. This unit cycle is expressed as follows. [(Hf—Al)/N₂/O₃/N₂]  Unit cycle 2

Herein, Hf—Al represents a singe molecular source gas, wherein Hf and Al are admixed to exist in a single molecule. Such substance as HfAl(MMP)₂(OiPr)₅ is an example of the single molecular source gas of Hf and Al. Herein, MMP and OiPr represent methylthiopropionaldehyde and isopropoxides, respectively.

In the first preferred embodiment, the Hf source gas and the Al source gas are individually supplied as described in the unit cycle 1 of FIG. 5. However, in the second preferred embodiment, the single molecular source gas of Hf and Al is used as shown in the unit cycle 2. This use of the single molecular source gas simplifies the steps of supplying the source gas and further shortens an overall period of the whole cycle. It is possible to control the Hf and Al composition ratio by controlling a ratio of each Hf and Al when Hf and Al are admixed to form a single molecule.

FIG. 8 is a timing diagram showing gas supply to a chamber when the HfO₂ and Al₂O₃ alloyed dielectric layer 32 is formed by employing the ALD technique in accordance with the second preferred embodiment of the present invention.

As shown, the unit cycle of (Hf—Al/N₂/O₃/N₂)_(w) refers to sequential steps of providing a single molecular source gas of Hf—Al, a purge gas of N₂, an oxidation agent of O₃, which is the reaction gas, and a purge gas of N₂. This cycle is repeated w times until a required thickness of the HfO₂ and Al₂O₃ alloyed dielectric layer 32 is reached. Herein, ‘w’ is natural numbers.

The above mentioned unit cycle 2 of the ALD technique will be described in more detail. First, the source gas, e.g., HfAl(MMP)₂(OiPr)₅, maintained with a room temperature is flowed into a chamber for about 0.1 seconds to about 3 seconds to make the source gas molecules of HfAl(MMP)₂(OiPr)₅ adsorbed. At this time, the chamber is maintained with a temperature ranging from about 200° C. to about 350° C. and a pressure ranging from about 0.1 torr to about 10 torr. Next, the purge gas of N₂ is flowed into the chamber for about 0.1 seconds to about 5 seconds to eliminate the non-adsorbed HfAl(MMP)₂(OiPr)₅ molecules. Thereafter, the reaction gas of O₃ is flowed for about 0.1 seconds to about 3 seconds to induce a reaction between the adsorbed HfAl(MMP)₂(OiPr)₅ molecules and the supplied O₃ gas. From this reaction, an atomic layer of (HfO₂)_(1-x)(Al₂O₃)_(x) constituted with the HfO₂ layer 32B and the Al₂O₃ layer 32A is deposited. The purge gas of N₂ is again flowed into the chamber for about 0.1 seconds to about 5 seconds to purge out the non-reacted O₃ gas and byproducts of the reaction.

The above unit cycle 2 including sequential steps of providing the source gas of HfAl(MMP)₂(OiPr)₅, the purge gas of N₂, the reaction gas of O₃ and the purge gas of N₂ is repeated w times until an intended thickness of the HfO₂ and Al₂O₃ alloyed dielectric layer 32 is reached. Meanwhile, in addition to the O₃ gas, H₂O and oxygen plasma can be used as the oxidation agent. Such inert gas as Ar can also be used as the purge gas as well.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a capacitor structure in accordance with a third preferred embodiment of the present invention.

As shown, the capacitor includes a lower electrode 41, a first hafnium oxide (HfO₂) and aluminum oxide (Al₂O₃) alloyed dielectric layer 42A, a hafnium oxide (HfO₂) and aluminum oxide (Al₂O₃) stacked dielectric layer 43, a second hafnium oxide (HfO₂) and aluminum oxide (Al₂O₃) alloyed dielectric layer 42B and an upper electrode 44.

Particularly, the lower electrode 41 and the upper electrode 44 are made of a material selected from a group consisting of P or As doped polysilicon, TiN, Ru, RuO₂, Pt, Ir and IrO₂. For instance, the lower electrode 41 and the upper electrode 44 are made of polysilicon, thereby forming a SIS capacitor structure. For another example, the lower electrode 41 is made of polysilicon, while the upper electrode 44 is made one of metal and metal oxide. This capacitor structure is called MIS. Also, both the lower electrode 41 and the upper electrode 44 are made of one of metal and metal oxide, thereby forming a metal-insulator-metal (MIM) capacitor structure. In addition, the lower electrode 41 can be formed in one of a stack type, a concave type and a cylinder type.

The first and the second HfO₂ and Al₂O₃ alloyed dielectric layers 42A and 42B have a molecular structure of (HfO₂)_(1-x)(Al₂O₃)_(x) formed by repeatedly performing the above-described unit cycle 1 and the unit cycle 2 of the ALD technique. Because of this alloyed structure formed trough the ALD technique, it is not solely an Al₂O₃ layer that makes a direct contact to the lower electrode 41 and an HfO₂ layer that makes a direct contact to the upper electrode 44. That is, an atomic layer can be formed inconsecutively by controlling the number of repeating the unit cycle.

Eventually, in the third preferred embodiment, both the Al₂O₃ and HfO₂ of the first and the second HfO₂ and Al₂O₃ alloyed dielectric layer 42A and 42B make contacts to the lower electrode 41 and the upper electrode 44.

Meanwhile, the HfO₂ and Al₂O₃ stacked dielectric layer 43 disposed between the first HfO₂ and Al₂O₃ alloyed dielectric layer 42A and the second HfO₂ and Al₂O₃ alloyed dielectric layer 42B is formed by sequentially stacking the HfO₂ layer and the Al₂O₃ layer or vice versa. Hereinafter, the dielectric layers sequentially stacked in order of HfO₂ and Al₂O₃ and in order of Al₂O₃ and HfO₂ are denoted as the Al₂O₃/HfO₂ stacked dielectric layer and the HfO₂/Al₂O₃ stacked dielectric layer, respectively. The HfO₂ and Al₂O₃ stacked dielectric layer 43 is formed by identically using the ALD technique adopted for forming the first and the second HfO₂ and Al₂O₃ alloyed dielectric layers 42A and 42B. However, the number of repeating the unit cycles increases to form the atomic layers consecutively. For instance, after the first HfO₂ and Al₂O₃ alloyed dielectric layer 42A is formed by repeating the unit cycle 1 of [(Hf/N₂/O₃/N₂)_(y)(Al/N₂/O₃/N₂)_(z)] n times, the cycle of (Al/N₂/O₃/N₂) is repeatedly performed until the Al₂O₃ layer is deposited with a thickness ranging from about 6 Å to about 10 Å. Then, the cycle of (Hf/N₂/O₃/N₂) is repeatedly performed until the HfO₂ layer is deposited with a thickness ranging from about 6 Å to about 10 Å.

According to the above, in case of using the above unit cycle 1 for depositing the first and the second HfO₂ and Al₂O₃ alloyed dielectric layers 42A and 42B, the number of repeating each correspondent cycle represented by the respective subscripts y, z and n are controlled to form the HfO₂ and Al₂O₃ alloyed dielectric layer in a structure of (HfO₂)_(1-x)(Al₂O₃)_(x), wherein the HfO₂ and Al₂O₃ are uniformly alloyed. Also, the number of repeating each correspondent cycle represented by the respective subscripts y and z are controlled to form the HfO₂ and Al₂O₃ stacked layer 43, wherein the HfO₂ layer and the Al₂O₃ layer are independently deposited.

In the third preferred embodiment of the present invention, the first and the second HfO₂ and Al₂O₃ alloyed dielectric layer 42A and 42B make contacts to both of the lower electrode 41 and the upper electrode 44. However, it is still possible to form the HfO₂ and Al₂O₃ alloyed dielectric layer that makes a contact only to the lower electrode 41 or the upper electrode 44.

In accordance with the first to the third preferred embodiments, HfO₂ having a good dielectric characteristic and Al₂O₃ having a good leakage current characteristic are alloyed together into the same dielectric layer. Thus, a layer that makes a direct contact to the lower electrode contains HfO₂, thereby providing an effect of increasing a break down voltage. Also, alloying HfO₂ and Al₂O₃ into the same dielectric layer allows a layer that makes a direct contact to the upper electrode to contain Al₂O₃. Thus, it is possible to decrease leakage currents and further to fabricate a highly qualified capacitor with an excellent dielectric characteristic.

The present application contains subject matter related to the Korean patent application No. KR 2003-0083399, filed in the Korean Patent Office on Nov. 22, 2003, the entire contents of which being incorporated herein by reference.

While the present invention has been described with respect to certain preferred embodiments, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the following claims. 

1. A capacitor, comprising: a lower electrode; a dielectric layer formed on the lower electrode; and an upper electrode formed on the dielectric layer, wherein a portion of the dielectric layer contacting one of the lower electrode and the upper electrode is formed by alloying hafnium oxide and aluminum oxide together.
 2. The capacitor as recited in claim 1, wherein the hafnium oxide and the aluminum oxide of the dielectric layer are single atomic thin layers deposited by an atomic layer deposition (ALD) technique.
 3. The capacitor as recited in claim 2, wherein nomenclatures of the hafnium oxide and the aluminum oxide are HfO₂ and Al₂O₃, respectively and the hafnium oxide and aluminum oxide alloyed dielectric layer has a molecular structure of (HfO₂)_(1-x)(Al₂O₃)_(x), in which x represents a molecular composition ratio.
 4. The capacitor as recited in claim 3, wherein each of the HfO₂ layer and the Al₂O₃ layer has a thickness ranging from about 1 Å to about 10 Å.
 5. The capacitor as recited in claim 3, wherein in the molecular structure of (HfO₂)_(1-x)(Al₂O₃)_(x), the subscript x representing a molecular composition ratio of the Al₂O₃ layer ranges from about 0.3 to about 0.6.
 6. The capacitor as recited in claim 1, wherein the lower electrode and the upper electrode are made of a material selected from a group consisting of polysilicon, titanium nitride (TiN), ruthenium (Ru), ruthenium oxide (RuO₂), platinum (Pt), iridium (Ir) and iridium oxide (IrO₂).
 7. The capacitor as recited in claim 1, wherein the dielectric layer makes a contact to the lower electrode and a stack layer formed by sequentially stacking aluminum oxide and hafnium oxide is disposed between the dielectric layer and the upper electrode.
 8. The capacitor as recited in claim 7, wherein the dielectric layer is disposed again between the upper electrode and the stack layer.
 9. A capacitor, comprising: a lower electrode made of polysilicon; an upper electrode made of polysilicon; and a dielectric layer formed between the lower electrode and the upper electrode and alloyed with hafnium oxide and aluminum oxide at a region contacting one of the lower electrode and the upper electrode.
 10. The capacitor as recited in claim 9, wherein the hafnium oxide and the aluminum oxide of the dielectric layer are single atomic thin layers deposited by an ALD technique.
 11. The capacitor as recited in claim 10, wherein nomenclatures of the hafnium oxide and the aluminum oxide are HfO₂ and Al₂O₃, respectively and the hafnium oxide and aluminum oxide alloyed dielectric layer has a molecular structure of (HfO₂)_(1-x)(Al₂O₃)_(x), in which x represents a molecular composition ratio.
 12. The capacitor as recited in claim 11, wherein each of the HfO₂ layer and the Al₂O₃ layer has a thickness ranging from about 1 Å to about 10 Å.
 13. The capacitor as recited in claim 11, wherein in the molecular structure of (HfO₂)_(1-x)(Al₂O₃)_(x), the subscript x representing a molecular composition ratio of the Al₂O₃ layer ranges from about 0.3 to about 0.6.
 14. A method for fabricating a capacitor, comprising the steps of: forming a lower electrode; forming a dielectric layer alloyed with hafnium oxide and aluminum oxide on the lower electrode; and forming an upper electrode on the dielectric layer.
 15. The method as recited in claim 14, wherein in the step of forming the hafnium oxide and aluminum oxide alloyed dielectric layer, the hafnium oxide and the aluminum oxide are deposited through the use of an ALD technique.
 16. The method as recited in claim 15, wherein the step of forming the hafnium oxide and aluminum oxide alloyed dielectric layer includes the steps of: forming a hafnium oxide layer by repeating a first cycle of proving a source gas of hafnium, a purge gas, an oxidation agent and a purge gas; forming an aluminum oxide layer by repeating a second cycle of proving a source gas of aluminum, a purge gas, an oxidation agent and a purge gas; and forming a hafnium oxide and aluminum oxide alloyed layer having a molecular structure of (HfO₂)_(1-x)(Al₂O₃)_(x), in which x represents a molecular composition ratio, by repeating a third cycle obtained by mixing the first and the second cycles.
 17. The method as recited in claim 16, wherein in the first cycle, the hafnium source gas is selected from a group consisting of HfCl₄, Hf (NO₃)₄, Hf(NCH₃C₂H₅)₄ Hf [N(CH₃)₂] ₄ and Hf[N(C₂H₅)₂]₄; the oxidation agent is one of O₃, H₂O and oxygen plasma; and the purge gas is one of N₂ and Ar.
 18. The method as recited in claim 16, wherein in the second cycle, the aluminum source gas is one of trimethylaluminum (TMA) and modified TMA (MTMA); the oxidation agent is one of O₃, H₂O and oxygen plasma; and the purge gas is one of N₂ and Ar.
 19. The method as recited in claim 16, wherein in the molecular structure of (HfO₂)_(1-x)(Al₂O₃)_(x), the subscript x representing a molecular composition ratio of the Al₂O₃ layer ranges from about 0.3 to about 0.6.
 20. The method as recited in claim 16, wherein each of the HfO₂ layer and the Al₂O₃ layer has a thickness ranging from about 1 Å to about 10 Å.
 21. The method as recited in claim 15, wherein the step of forming the hafnium oxide and aluminum oxide alloyed dielectric layer includes the step of forming a hafnium oxide and aluminum oxide alloyed layer having a molecular structure of (HfO₂)_(1-x)(Al₂O₃)_(x), in which x represents a molecular composition ratio, by repeating a cycle of proving a source gas of hafnium and aluminum bound in a single molecule, a purge gas, an oxidation agent and a purge gas.
 22. The method as recited in claim 21, wherein the source gas of single molecular hafnium and aluminum is HfAl(MMP)₂(OiPr)₅; the oxidation agent is one of O₂, H₂O and oxygen plasma; and the purge gas is one of N₂ and Ar.
 23. The method as recited in claim 15, wherein the lower electrode and the upper electrode are made of a material selected from a group consisting of polysilicon, TiN, Ru, RuO₂, Pt, Ir and IrO₂. 